Scotland's Asylums in the First World War

This book explores the marginalisation of thousands of asylum patients who were removed from their home institutions in Scotland during the First World War to make way for soldiers. Examining what life was like for Scotland's mentally ill civilians from 1914-1934, the author explains why and how asylums were taken over by the War Office, and how this created a divide between civilians and soldiers, carved mostly by politicians and the media. The book sheds light on the painstaking process asylum doctors in Scotland went through to find homes for thousands of patients, and how they found ways to protect their health and wellbeing. Providing insights into the patient hierarchy within Scottish asylums, the author argues that soldiers were not the protected class of patient that politicians and the military tried to portray them as. Drawing from the words of Scotland’s asylum patients themselves, this important book highlights the voices of the mentally ill in Scotland during not only a tumultuous period for their nation, but for themselves.

Jennifer Farquharson is an independent researcher specialising in early twentieth-century mental healthcare in Scotland, architectural history, and building conservation. She currently works in the heritage sector at Historic Environment Scotland, where she communicates specialist research to general audiences through books, online learning, exhibitions, films, and more. Jennifer was awarded her doctorate in history from Glasgow Caledonian University, in the UK, and is a member of the Society for the Social History of Medicine, the British Society for the History of Science, and an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historic Society.